PIMMER’s “Things We Did For Fun” Is a Fever Dream of Youthful Chaos and Indie Glory

There’s a feeling that sneaks up on you sometimes. You’re not sure where it comes from—maybe a scent, or a glint of light bouncing off the hood of an old car—but suddenly, you’re back. Back in someone’s garage with cheap amps and sticky floors. Back in the backseat of a too-fast car on a summer night. Back in your own skin, but with a little more nerve, a little less knowing.

PIMMER’s new single, “Things We Did For Fun,” taps into that exact feeling—and absolutely bottles it.

This is the first single off their upcoming album I Wish I Could Care, and if it’s any indication, we’re in for something wild, weird, and honest. The song pulses with a four-on-the-floor heartbeat and rimshot ticks that feel like a dance party in the middle of a skate park. And then the chorus blows it all open—surfy guitars, melodic chaos, a melodic shrug of the shoulders that somehow feels like both a hug and a dare.

It’s indie. It’s alt. It’s rock. It’s Blink-182 sneaking into a dream with 10cc, and for some reason, Sting’s ghost is there sipping lemonade. And it works.

Frontman Sanford Schaffer—who kicked off PIMMER as a solo project before last year’s Halcyon 303 exploded with half a million streams and serious buzz—has brought the project full band with drummer Izzy Davis and bassist/backing vocalist (and nephew!) Jack Rooks. That added horsepower gives “Things We Did For Fun” a lived-in, raw energy. It’s not polished to death. It’s alive. There are corners and sweat and moments where it threatens to go off the rails—and that’s exactly where it shines.

And look, nostalgia songs are a dime a dozen. But this isn’t some sepia-toned montage. This one feels like memory. It doesn’t just list off things we used to do—it drops you into them. You’re skateboarding down a hill you probably shouldn’t be on. You’re making out on a roof. You’re skipping class for no reason other than the sun looked too good to ignore.

Maybe that’s the magic here. This isn’t youth through a rearview mirror. It’s youth through a cracked windshield at 80mph, music blaring, future optional.

There’s also something poetic—and bittersweet—about the song being one of the last mixes from David “Ducky” Powell, who passed not long after. It adds a layer of gravity beneath the weightless chaos, a sense that fun, like life, is best when you don’t try to control it too much.

With a fall tour on the horizon and more music coming, PIMMER is entering Chapter Two with both middle fingers up and a grin that says, you coming or what?

If “Things We Did For Fun” is what growing up sounds like, maybe growing up isn’t so bad after all.

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